


Shut Up and Dance

by pietrosminimoff



Series: Billy and Teddy's Excellent Adventures [1]
Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Billy Kaplan has a crush, Gay, High School, House Party, Iron Lad needs teen experiences, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Teddy too, Wickling - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 08:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18426636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pietrosminimoff/pseuds/pietrosminimoff
Summary: Nate wants to go to a party to get a teenager experience. None of the other Young Avengers are too pleased, but they go anyway. Billy and Teddy, who are crushing on each other, finally get a moment alone.





	Shut Up and Dance

Parties were so… lame. They were stressful and loud and dramatic. Speaking of dramatic, the girls around Billy at that moment were fighting over… a boy? Or something. He didn’t know. Nor did he care. He looked into his plastic cup, which was filled with  _ water _ , not beer, and sighed. Iron Lad, or as everyone knew him, Nate, was from the future, and while he was in the past, he was determined to get every ounce of teenager experience that he could. And that included parties. It was one of Billy’s classmates’ parties, but he hadn’t been invited. No one was invited. They just showed up. So when Billy had showed up with three other guys, no one had batted an eye. Except for Kessler, of course. But he didn’t say anything. Not after the incident.

 

Nate shouted Billy’s name over the music, and the introverted witch was jolted out of his thoughts. He looked up to lock eyes with the teen, and Nate grinned brightly, lifting his cup. Billy gave his trademark smirk and rolled his eyes. Behind Nate, leaning against the far wall, was Teddy Altman. The six foot tall, hulking giant seemed only slightly more comfortable than Billy felt, and it comforted him slightly. If someone so easy going was that awkward, then maybe he fit in a bit more. Eli was next to him on the wall, brooding as always. He hadn’t wanted to come either, and he was rather vocal about it on the way. Eli and Nate were always fighting, often leaving him and Teddy to their own devices.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Billy started suddenly at the loud voice next to him. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even seen Teddy cross the room to him. “Oh, uh… Just… You know. I’m not a big party person,” he explained, raising his voice to be heard. The shapeshifter nodded thoughtfully. “Do you need to… step outside for a bit?” His heart leapt into his throat at the suggestion. Alone time with Teddy? Well, not  _ alone _ alone, but alone enough, away from the prying eyes of his teammates. He nodded silently, and his friend gave him a warm smile. A large hand gently came down on his smaller shoulder as the other mutant led him into the backyard. He was right when he had figured that they wouldn’t be alone; people were partying outside, but the night air was cool, and Billy was finally able to breathe properly. He leaned against the brick wall, near the fence. There were fewer people in the corners. Teddy leaned against the fence with his arms crossed, as though he were a bodyguard.

“Thanks,” Billy said, giving him a small grin. “Anything for my favorite teammate.” His blood rushed to his ears, and he looked into his cup again. “Favorite?” he questioned. The tips of Teddy’s ears turned pink. “Well, I mean, we never fight. And you never fight with anyone else. So… yeah,” he covered, suddenly finding the grass beneath his feet very interesting. The young superhero felt a little disappointed, because he was too gay and dumb to realize that Teddy was blatantly trying to hide his crush. So he looked up at the sky instead of at his teammate.

 

They were in upstate New York, at his classmate’s vacation home or whatever, so it was much easier to see the stars than it was in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. He could easily see Orion, and when he tilted his head further, he could even see Sagittarius. Jupiter and Mars were just slightly above the moon, and for a moment, the music and the loud chatter of the party drifted away, and all he could hear was his breathing.

 

“Earth to Billy,” Teddy bantered, but there was a kindness in his vivid blue eyes that seemed… affectionate. “Where were you?” “Uh, space,” Billy admitted with a nervous chuckle. The blond smiled again. “Wish I could go there. Hey, maybe with Nate’s tech we could go there, just you and me. What do you think?” The witch grinned teasingly. “Theodore Altman, are you asking me on a date?”

 

“Just a theoretical one. Although for a date we should probably do something more realistic, like a movie.” Billy’s heart stopped and he died right there. Some gay related aneurysm, he figured. “Hey, I didn’t break you, did I?” Teddy called, waving his hand in front of the brunet’s eyes. Billy shook his head, both as a no and to clear his head. He took a moment to really wonder if his teammate had been joking or not. His clear blue eyes held slight amusement, but seemed sincere enough. Those large hands appeared to be shaking somewhat. Was this real? Had Billy died and gone to heaven? Or was Teddy Altman, the nerdy jock of his dreams, asking him on a date?

 

“Uh… so, a movie?” he asked tentatively. “We could go see, like, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or something,” Teddy elaborated, caution guarding those stunning blue eyes of his. Billy nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. A lot. Or, I mean, a normal amount. Or, you know what? I’m gonna shut up and just end it with yes.” The jock laughed at his babbling, then looked to the door. “Hey, I know parties aren’t really your thing but… do you want to dance with me?” He should have said no. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he was an overly anxious  _ nerd _ that had two left feet. Actually, he  _ didn’t _ have two left feet, but that was exclusively for tap and jazz and ballet. He didn’t know how to dance at parties! Much less with other teenagers! But he closed his eyes and nodded. “Sure.”

 

Teddy took his hand and led him back inside. The party seemed so much more manageable with a giant pushing through the crowd for him. Everything felt so insignificant with Teddy, even as Kessler noticed their interlaced hands from across the room and gave a dirty scowl. It all seemed so small, and not because Teddy was huge. It was because Teddy made him feel safe, he always had, and it was that comfort that allowed Billy to feel like he could take on the world. And then the blond put his huge hands on Billy's slender waist, and he felt himself choking up again. It wasn’t a slow song, so why was Teddy grabbing him? Did he know less about parties than he thought he did? Was that even possible? But Teddy was only pulling him closer. Then the bass dropped, and the lights flashed, and Teddy was standing there with an amused, knowing grin as he twisted his hips in ways that only a god could. Or maybe that was the adrenaline kicking in. Billy knew the song. This was fine. He started jerking and twisting and  _ dancing _ in ways that could only work for that song. The lights were dim, and the movement around him made him feel a little lightheaded, but that was fine. He started tossing around his head, and Teddy moved a little closer so that they were really dancing together. 

 

The music slowed for a moment, and Billy really lost himself in it. His arms swirled above his head in a freeing way, and he finally felt himself as he swayed side to side. And then he opened his eyes as the beat speed up again, and Teddy had stopped moving, stopped dancing. The rap from the song seemed to float over them, and when the beat slowed again, so did time. The pair moved closer together, and then they kissed. Sparks exploded throughout Billy’s body, his fingertips, his lips, his toes. Teddy’s lips were warm and comforting, and his hands were gentle on the brunet’s waist. He was also the first one to pull away. Anxiously, Billy looked around, and a few people had noticed and were sending him dirty looks as they backed away, but it seemed like no one was going to punch him. So far. 

  
Teddy was smiling, and as the song changed, so did Billy’s mood. Why was he so anxious? His crush liked him,  _ a lot _ apparently, and he was at a party, and he was having a good time. He felt like he was flying. Not even Kang the Conqueror could kill his mood.

**Author's Note:**

> The song they are dancing to is Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz. I tried using stuff from 2005, when Young Avengers came out, yeehaw.


End file.
